Ladder



Sept. 11, 1945.

c. A. HILL LADDER Filed April 28, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 INVENTOR.

Char/es 4. H/'// ATTOENL' Y5 C. A. HILL LADDER Sept. 11, 1945.

Filed April 28, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Char/es A. H/'// se tfu, 1945.

c. A. HILL LADDER Filed April 28, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIEE E;

FlC-Ei l Cl "INVENTOR c/7ar/es ATTORNEYS 5 Patented Sept. 11, 1945 LADDER Charles A. Hill, Oakland, Calif., assignor to William C. Frost, San Francisco, Calif.

. Application April 28, 1942, Serial No. 440,789

Claims.

This invention relates to a ladder for obtaining access to an upper floor in a building, and has for objects a ladder that is economical to make and to install, and which ladder, when installed, is easily and quickly moved from a concealed position on the upper floor to which access is desired by the person on the floor therebeneath, carrying with it the closure for an opening in such upper floor through which the ladder is adapted to be moved.

Another object is a ladder adapted to be installed horizon-tally on the upper floor of a building in a manner to be automatically guided through a relatively small opening in such floor to an inclined position with the foot thereof resting on the floor below said upper floor and with the head thereof in said opening upon the foot of the ladder being pulled downwardly through said opening, and which ladder will automatically move from the inclined position back to horizontal position on the upper floor without effort on the part of the operator, after the foot portion of the ladder has been lifted to a predetermined position between the upper and lower floors, and which results are accomplished without the use of pulleys, cables, springs, counterweights, or other complicated and expensive equipment.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the specification and drawings annexed hereto.

While my ladder is adapted for use in any structure where there is an upper floor to which access is desirable and no fixed stairway is provided, the usual procedure is to provide an opening in the floor of such floor, as in an attic floor, and the person desiring access to such floor generally follows the procedure of maneuvering an ordinary ladder or stepladder through the various rooms of the house to below such opening, which takes considerable time and is hazardous to furniture, doors and fixtures, and after placing the ladder in position, the procedure of crawling through the opening is equally hazardous to life and limb, due to the instability or inadequateness of the ladder. In the case of fire on the roof or in the attic, due to incendiary bombs, sparks, defective electrical wiring or defective flues, it is essential that a quick and safe means be provided after gaining access to the attic and roof if the fire is to be successfully extinguished or controlled.

I am aware of the fact that previous attempts have been made to provide disappearing stairs for gaining access to upper floors, but most of these stairs require an excessively large opening in the attic floor, together with the use of expensive guideways, pulleys, cables, or counterweights. Some employ costly springs in the place of counterweights and the weight of the entire equipment used is excessive.

With the use of my ladder and equipment, the opening through which the ladder is moved is only approximately 24 x 30 inches as distinguished from openings as large as 30 x inches that have heretofore been required for 9 or 10 foot ladders or stairs to be used between floors spaced about eight feet apart. Also, the ladder of my invention is provided with hand rails, and the head clearance in the attic for operating the ladder is only fromabout 4 to 5 feet. The elements I require for installing my ladder are extremely economical to make or purchase, as'the case may be, sinceno springs, counterweights, hinged doors, rollers, pulleys, cables or slides are required. All that is necessary is a pair of simple arms of wood or metal, with a few bolts and brackets, and an ordinary ladder of the proper length, together with a simple closure for the opening through which the ladder is adapted to move. Other improvements beyond the bare essentials may be added, as will be described more in detail.

To move my ladder from a concealed, horizontal position in an attic or upper floor; 'to inclined position for use, a downward initial pull of only about twenty pounds is all that is required, which force decreases progressively as the ladder is moved downwardly, and when the ladder is returned by a person on the lower floor, it will automatically resume its horizontal position when the foot of the ladder is slightly above headlevel of the person returning it.

I further provide means automatically actuated by the movement of the ladder from inoperative position to operative position for lighting an electric light bulb in the upper floor area from which the ladder is moved, and which means also automatically turns out the light when the ladder is moved back to inoperative position. Thus, the ordinarily darkened room from which the ladder is moved will be illuminated when a person enters said room, and there is no chance for leaving the light burning after the person has left the room and has replaced the ladder.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional view through a portion ofa building showing my ladder and its associated parts in full line in inoperative position, and with the various positions of the ladder during its movement in dot-dash line. The section through the ladder is taken along line |l of Fig. 2.

clined position. 7

1 and to the ladder, extends over the opening, the sides of which are defined by the frame l3 as best seen in Fig. 2. Secured to the side rails of said foot portion are opposed side members l4 that extend through the opening defined by the frame sides, and said members carry a flat rectangular closure l5, the marginal portion Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 1.

through the upper end of the ladder along one side of the latter showing the position of the electric switch when the ladder is in inoperative, horizontal position.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view through the ladder actuated switch when the ladder is disengaged from the switch so as to cause the electric light to be lighted.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a form of my invention.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken alongthe line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line Ill-ll] of Fig. 8.

In detail, the ladder of my invention is generally designated l, and comprises parallel side rails 2 that are connected by the conventional, uniformly spaced rungs 3, the latter being shown as rounds, but which may obviously be of any desired cross-sectional shape, such as the steps of a stepladder or of any other of the usual shapes.

A pair of parallel, equal length arms 4 (Fig. 2 respectively alongside the opposite outer-sides of the side rails 2 are each pivotally connected at one of their ends to the head end of each side rail 2 by bolts 5, and an anti-friction washer 6 on each bolt is between each arm and each side rail. These arms 4 extend from said bolts alongside said side rails toward the foot end of the ladder, and terminate about midway between the ends of said side rails where they are respectively pivoted to brackets 1 by bolts 8. These brackets 1 are outside the oppositely, outwardly facing sides of the arms 4, as best indicated in Fig. 2 and said brackets are secured to the floor 9 modified of the attic or upper story, and extend upwardly from such floor. Said brackets may be of any desired material, and are preferably carried at the ends of a base plate II], which plate is nailed or screwed to the floor of the room and may form part of the support'fo'r the ladder when the latter lies horizontally within said upper story or attic. The foregoing description is with reference to the inoperative position of the "ladder when the latter is fully within an attic or the like, in generally horizontal position as seen in Figs. 1, 2.

The floor of the attic or of the room on the upper story is formed with an opening H which extends through said floor. Where standard ceiling or floor joists I2 of the usual l5 inchspacing are in the building, a section of one floor joist of about 24. inches in length may be cut out, and two of the opposed sides of said opening will be defined by the portions of two of the joists at opposite sides of the removed section, and in the opening thus formed is secured a rectangular frame I3 (Fig. 2).

The foot end portion of the ladder, when horizontal and when arms 4 are secured to brackets of which overlaps the co-planar face plates l6 that are secured to the lower edges of frame I 3 and'that extend outwardly fromsaid edges over the marginal portions of the ceiling IT at said opening II (Figs. 3, 5). Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken Said closure carries a pull-cord or the like,

' [8 (Fig. 1) that hangs downwardly into the room below the story of the building in which the ladder is positioned when the latter is within said story. The length of this cord is such that it can be readily reached by a person in the room below the closure.

The head ends of the ladder side-rails 2 may extend beyond the bolts 5 a short distance and the head ends of arms 4 may extend a similar distance beyond said bolts. These extensions on the ladder are indicated at 19, and the arm extensions are indicated at 20 (Figs. 2, 4).

When the ladder side rails 2 and the arms 4 are so extended, the said extensions may be respectively formed with openings 2!, 22 which are in coaxial alignment when the ladder is horizontal, and which openings are best seen in Fig. 4, in which the extensions I9, 20 are angularly disposed relative to each other. The bolts 5 may be shifted to coaxial position in any of the desired openings, so as to provide for a greater or lesser inclination of the ladder when the latter is in inclined operative position, as may be desired. Or by this structure the same ladders and arms may be employed for use in buildings where the floor to ceiling distances vary materially. Of course, in any particular installation for a definite ceiling height and for a fixed degree of inclination of the ladder, the extensions I9, 21] may be omitted, in which case the bolts may be fairly close to the corresponding ends of the arm and side rails.

In all instances,whether or not the extensions I9, 20 are used, I preferably provide a guide means on the floor of the upper story to insure movement of the ladder to a definite position when the latter is horizontal, so that the closure l5 will properly cover the opening through which the ladder is to be moved.

This means comprises an upstanding element 24 secured at its lower end toa base plate 25 by any suitable means, and which element has downwardly divergently extending side edges 26 (Fig. 5) that are spaced apart at the base plate only slightly less than the distance between the side rails 2 of the ladder. This element is positioned to lie between the upper. ends of said side rails when the ladder is horizontal and when the upper ends of the ladder rest on end portions of said base plate that extend outwardly of the said elements, as best seen in Fig. 2. Thus theupper end of the ladder, when swung downwardly along the dotted line 21 (Fig. 1) will be automatically guided by said. side edges of the element to exactly the proper horizontal position of the ladder.

The ladder is properly supported in the opening defined by the side members of frame I3 against lateral shifting in the common plane of the side rails by means of a plate 28 extending between said side rails and projecting upwardly from side of frame 13 across which the side rails extend (Figs. 1,

Also the opposed sides of frame l3 that extend generally parallel with said siderails carry blocks 29 that extend partially or fully, as desired, across the opposite outer sides of the ladder side rails when the ladder is in inclined position relative to horizontal.

Positioned at the head end of the ladder and below one of the side rails thereof, is a switch 30 (Fig. 6) that is adapted to be actuated when the ladder is in horizontal inoperative position for opening an electrical circuit 3| that is in series with an electric light bulb 32 for turning out said bulb, but when the head of the ladder is lifted from horizontal position during its movement to inclined operative position, the switch will close the circuit and will cause the bulb to light. Fig. 7 shows the switch so closed under the actuation of spring 33. The post 34 of the switch is the portion adapted to be engaged by the ladder.for opening the switch. Obviously the light bulb 32 may be positioned on the element 24 or in any other desired part of the upper story, and as many light bulbs as are desired may be in circuit 3|.

By this arrangement of the ladder and switch, including the element 24 for insuring movement of the head of the ladder to a predetermined position, it will be seen that the attic orv upper story will be automatically illuminated when the ladder is down and the light bulbs will be automatically turned out when the ladder is restored to its horizontal position.

The operation of the ladder is as follows. Upon the operators room A (Fig. 1) pulling down on cord l8, theladder will fulcrum on the side of frame 13 outwardly of the ends of plate 28, and the foot of the ladder .will swing downwardly about the. fulcrum points on said side frame member simultaneously with longitudinal movement of the ladder downwardly through said opening from the upper room B due to the arms 4 and their pivotal connections with the brackets 1 and the head of the ladder respectively. Only a relatively light downward pull is required to cause this swinging of the ladder since the closure [5 and members I 4 are all carried on the foot end of the ladder and their weight lessens the force of the pull that would otherwise be required.

When the ladder is inclined to the degree indicated by the dot-dash position 40 thereof, the arms 4 will be substantially vertical, and from that point the ladder is grasped by the operator and is lowered to the operative position 4|, also indicated by dot-dash lines.

When in the position 4 I, the head of the ladder is supported by arms 4and the bolt connections with brackets 8, and no slippage of the ladder is possible. As seen in Fig. 4, the head is spaced slightly from the frame member I3 across which the frame extends, thus removing any objectionable strain on the frame, which would occur were the ladder to rest against the frame. As the arm 4 and ladder I intersect each other at an obtuse angle as indicated in Fig. 4, it is seen that the ladder is locked against any possible pivoting of the ladder on bolts 5, or pivoting of arms 4 on bolts 8, irrespective of how great a weight is on the ladder.

The closure I5 is preferably provided with spaced projections 42 (Fig. 3) outwardly of the foot ends of the side rails of the ladder, and which legs are adapted to rest on the=floor of the room A.

The outer ends of the foot ends of the ladder side rails, and the members l4, are rounded to form continuous convexly curved edges 43 (Fig. 1) so as to clear the frame 13 as the ladder is swung to and from operative position, and the plate 28 is slightly rounded to clear the ladder rungsas the ladder is slid on said frame during its movement through the frame opening.

For convenience, hand rails 44 are respectively secured to the side rails 2 by any suitable means such as supports 45 and straps 46, and which supports space the hand rails from the side rails 2. These hand rails readily move with the ladder through the frame opening and enable the operator to use the ladder with greater convenience than would be possible were these hand rails omitted.

In returning the ladder to its position in room B the operator merely lifts the foot of the ladder and the arms '4 will guide the ladder to position and from this point on the head of the ladder will automatically continue to follow the line 2'! (Fig. 1) to its original horizontal position in room B, carrying with it the closure l5 which will automatically close the frame opening through which the ladder is moved. At the final movement of the ladder to-horizontal position the switch 30 will be actuated to turn out the bulb 32.

There is one very important feature made possible by my improved construction that must not be overlooked in considering my invention. With my construction, the opening I I can be positioned in a shaft or closet space that is only approximately 30 inches wide and if a door leads into such space so that an operator can mount the ladder, the horizontal dimensions of such closet need be only approximately 24 x 30 inches, in which the 30 inch width is in the direction transversely of the width of the ladder. Of course, the ladder when used in so small a place would be almost vertical, and if the identical structure and dimensions of parts were used as shown in the drawings, the arms 4 would be slightly inclined upwardly from pivotbolts 5, but the ladder would still be securely supported against slippage. Even when the ladder is inclined as shown in the drawings, it would still be entirely operative within a small space of only about 24 x inches.

The importance of the foregoing feature is ap parent when it is considered that most existing homes have attic trap doors in closets and in small spaces, and where new houses are built it is possible to provide a special closet in which the ladder is operative at a low cost and without sacrifice -of space.

Figs. 8 to 10 are merely modified forms of my invention, in which, instead of using two arms pivotally connected to the head of the ladder, I use a single arm carrying a bearing 5| at one end and a bearing 52 at the opposite end. Bearing 5| rotatably passes a fixed shaft 53 therethrough, the latter being secured at its ends to the head ends of the side rails 54 of the ladder and takes the place of the upper rung of the ladder.

Collars 55 on the shaft may secure the bearing 5| against sliding longitudinally of the shaft.

The bearing 52- rotatably passes a shaft 56 therethrough, said shaft being secured at its ends inbrapkets 51 that are secured to the floor of the attic or upper room.

These bearings 5|, 52 are offset to one side of the ends of arm 50 so that the latter will clear the rungs 58 when the side rails 54 are parallel therewith and the ladderis horizontal.

1 The guide member 59 (Fig. 9) at the head of the shaft is formed with a central upwardly opening slot having upwardly divergently extending opposite edges for guiding the bar 50, and consequently the ladder, into proper position when the ladder is horizontal, and the ladder rests at its upper ends on projections 60 projecting from the opposite outer edges of the guide member.

At the foot end of the ladder, when the latter is in horizontally extending position, there is a plate 62 having a vertically opening slot with divergently, upwardly extending edges 63 (Fig. between which bar is guided when the ladder i in inclined position.

All other structures as described for the preceding figures is retained. The operation of the ladder is obvious from the description of the operation of the preferred form of the invention.

The principal difference in structure between the device of Figs. 8 to 10 is the fact that a single bar is used, instead of a pair of arms, and while the stability during swinging of the ladder is not as firm as where two arms are used, this structure enables the use of relatively light; but rigid tubing for the arm; bearings and shafts, if desired. Hand rails may be employed without invention, in view of Figs. 1 and 2, and the light actuatin means of the device of Fig. 1 may also be used.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with an upper story floor having an opening therein; a generally horizontally extending ladder over said floor with its foot end adjacent said opening and with its head remote from said opening, said ladder being tiltable about a horizontal axis'at the edge of aid opening and slidable transversely of said axis through said opening with its foot end foremost when said foot end of the ladder is pulled downwardly through said opening; guide means s cured to said ladder for guiding th head end of said ladder to and from said opening in'a predetermined arcuate path when said ladder is tilted and is moved downwardly through said opening and when said ladder is returned through the opening to its normal, generally horizontal position; means adjacent the head end of said ladder free from securement thereto but engageable therewith for guiding the head end of said ladder to its position remote from said opening when said ladder'is moved from said opening to its normal, generally horizontal pos tion over said floor.

2. In a building having an upper and a lower room therein with a floor therebetween; a rectangular opening formed in said floor; a closure below said floor closing said opening; a generally horizontally extendihg ladder oversaid floor; means positioning said ladder with its foot end over said opening and with its 'head' endremote from said opening and extending across one edge of said opening at right angles to the central axis of the latter at a point between the said head and foot ends of the ladder; said means including arms pivotally connected at one of their ends to the head end of said ladder pivotal connections between said arms and said ladder longitudinally of the ladder and said arms for changing the ratio between the distance of the pivotal connections between said'floor and said opening and the distance between the last mentioned pivotal" connection and the pivotal connections between said arms andsaid ladder; the said means including a plurality of registering pairs of openings formed in said arms and in said ladder when said ladder is in said-generally horizontal position, and a horizontal pin removably positioned in one of the registering pair of said openings.

.3. In a disappearing ladder installation comprising a ladder movable in cooperation with a floor opening between an upper and a lower room, a plurality of spaced floor plates secured on the floor of said upper'room extending transversely of said ladder and supporting the latter horizontal thereon with the foot portion of said ladder extending over said opening; one of said floor plates being positioned intermediate the ends of said ladder and provided with upstanding bracket members at opposite sides of said ladder; a pair of arms parallel with said ladder and said floorpivotally connected at one of the ends thereof to said brackets and at their opposite ends to the head end of said ladder for swinging in a semi-circular path to a horizontal position extending from said brackets to said opening with the pivotal connection between said arms and said head end of the ladder over said opening when in said last mentio ed position; a closure for said opening and below the same supported on the foot end of the ladder in a plane parallel with the plan of saidladder; means securing saidclosure rigidly to the said foot end of said ladder; said closure being movable downwardly away from said opening with the foot end of the ladderwhen said arms are swungin said semi-circular path upon movement of the ladder from its horizontal position on said floor plates and through said opening.

4. A disappearing ladder for use in an opening in the floor between upper and lower stories in a building, means on said floor for supporting said ladder horizontal thereon with one of its ends extending over said opening, a pair of parallel arms of equal length respectively adjacent opposite outer sides of said ladder and parallel with the latter, said ladder being pivotally'connected atone of its ends to the ends of said arms that are remote from said opening, and the opposite ends of said arms being pivotally connected to said floor at points equally spaced from said opening a distance less than the length of each arm and the space between said arms and said opening being free from obstruction to swinging of said arms to positions substantially parallel with said floor when said 5. A disappearing ladder assembly adapted for mounting as a unit on the upper floor of a room'having an opening therein for movement of the ladder therethrough, an elongatedfioor plate extending transversely across said ladder at a point intermediate the opposite ends of the latter, said floor plate projecting at'its ends beyond the side rails of the ladder and brackets on said projecting ends extending across the said side rails, arms of equal length pivotally connected at oneof their ends to said brackets and pivotally connected at their opposite ends tothe side rails of theladder at the head end of the ladder, said arm being substantially parallelwith said side rails when said ladder is against said floor plate, and said floor plate being adapted to be secured to such upper floor of a room with the ladder supported thereon and with the foot end of said ladder projecting over such opening, a flat closure plate parallel with the plane in which the side rails of the ladder are disposed, means securing said closure plate to said foot end of the ladder spaced from the side of the ladder that is supported on said floor plate, said c10sure plate being of a size to extend across the lower side of such opening in such floor when said ladder is supported on said floor plate.

CHARLES A. HILL. 

